It does seem like people used to whistle while they worked -- or sing or hum -- more often. I'm 51 and in my formative teenage years a lot of folk singers were on top 10 lists (some even with a bullet, whatever that meant). Peter Paul & Mary, Kingston Trio, Brothers Four, Glenn Yarbrough. Little Richard got in the act with a recording of "Shortnin' Bread," Trini Lopez with "Lemon Tree." There was even a TV show, "Hootenanny," devoted to folk. These commercial influences helped form a later appetite for non-commercial music. My 21-year-old daughter now a big fan of Indigo Girls, Ani Defranco, Billy Bragg, Sinead O'Connor and other folk-influenced performers. In that sense, I think the circle's not only unbroken, but widening.